About 80 per cent of Scotland’s estimated 5,500 children with a hearing or visual problem attend mainstream schools, yet there are only around 80 specialist teachers of the deaf and 58 of the visually impaired, according to Holyrood’s Education Committee.
The shortage is set to worsen as fewer teachers are training as specialists and almost half today’s workforce are set to retire within the next 10 to 15 years.
The MSPs called for more incentives to become specialist teachers. They also urged schools to make more use of technology such as iPads for deaf and visually impaired children, as well as providing better preparation for life after school.
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